Trump pleads not guilty at arraignment for 2020 election indictment

WASHINGTON – Former president Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump appeared for his arraignment at the Elijah Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., just blocks away from where his supporters stormed the Capitol to try to keep him in power.

A grand jury indicted Trump on four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the nation, brought by special counsel Jack Smith.

“As to counts one to four, how does Mr. Trump plead?” the judge asked Thursday. Trump raised his head and said, “Not guilty,” lowering his head emphatically as he did.

The first hearing in the case is set for Aug. 28 at 10 a.m. Judge Tanya Chutkan – a former public defender appointed in 2014 by President Barack Obama – has been assigned the case and intends to set a trial date at that hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya said.

Upadhyaya said the government has seven days to file a brief to estimate how much time it would need for the trial.

Trump lawyer John Lauro requested the government give them the scope of discovery within three days, saying they were concerned about not knowing “the scope of the data we’re going to have to go through.”

In outlining the conditions for release, Upadhyaya added, “I want to remind you it is a crime to intimidate a witness or retaliate against anyone for providing information about your case to the prosecution, or otherwise obstruct justice. Do you understand these warnings, sir?”

Trump nodded yes. When asked if he was prepared to comply with those conditions, Trump nodded again and stood to raise his right hand in the air.

Upadhyaya then handed down a sheet containing the conditions of Trump’s release. Trump signed the document with a regular pen and returned it to one of his lawyers.

The arraignment took a little under an hour.

The former president had provided his name and identifying characteristics, such as his height and weight, and had his fingerprints taken. He was not required to provide a DNA swab sample or have his photograph taken.

Trump has now been indicted in three criminal cases and is under investigation in one other – all while leading the Republican field in the 2024 presidential race. His growing legal troubles do not bar him from running for president. Even a conviction would not disqualify him from contesting the election.

U.S. court officials often provide an overflow courtroom and a video feed to accommodate public interest for high-profile proceedings in Washington. For Trump’s arraignment, they opened two rooms with space for 150 people.

Those auxiliary courtrooms were mostly silent and empty. Only about 30 members of the public ventured to downtown Washington, observers said, one-third as many as news media representatives, surprising authorities who expected more to attend the historic event.

“Where’s the public?” one U.S. official said.

Outside the courtroom, journalists far outnumbered demonstrators. A group of about 50 pro-indictment demonstrators gathered on the National Mall.

Earlier, less than three hours before Trump’s initial appearance in court, his campaign distributed a multiple-page document attacking special counsel Smith and repeating unsubstantiated claims that Trump was being subjected to a “witch hunt” directed by President Joe Biden.

“Jack Smith has conducted a dirty, politically motivated investigation of President Trump to prevent him from winning back the presidency,” the document claimed.

The Trump campaign also claimed that Smith was Biden’s “political pawn.”

The document was distributed as Trump was traveling from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to a federal courthouse in Washington.

The former president was also active on social media Thursday, casting his indictment as a sacrifice for his supporters in a noon Truth Social post stating that he was heading to Washington to be “arrested.” (Trump is not actually being arrested but making an initial court appearance Thursday.)

“IT IS A GREAT HONOR, BECAUSE I AM BEING ARRESTED FOR YOU. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote.

In a social media post late Wednesday night, the former president called for a trial to be moved to West Virginia, saying he couldn’t get a fair trial in Washington. His post on Truth Social echoed arguments made by his lawyers and political allies.

“The latest Fake ‘case’ brought by Crooked Joe Biden & Deranged Jack Smith will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia!” Trump wrote. “IMPOSSIBLE to get a fair trial in Washington, D.C., which is over 95% anti-Trump, & for which I have called for a Federal TAKEOVER in order to bring our Capital back to Greatness.”

In the 2020 presidential election against Democrat Biden, Trump won about 5% of the vote in Washington, while he won nearly 69% in West Virginia.

The Justice Department would be expected to oppose a motion for a change in venue if filed by Trump’s lawyers. The case was filed in Washington because that is where Trump’s alleged crimes occurred.

In his social media post, Trump called Washington “a high crime embarrassment to our Nation and, indeed, the World.”

In an NPR interview that aired Thursday, Trump attorney Lauro pushed back at special Smith’s call for a “speedy trial,” emphasizing the complexity of the case and that it took the Justice Department 3½ years to bring it.

Lauro dismissed the notion of a “speedy trial” starting in just a few months as “absurd.”

“What we want is a just trial, not simply a speedy trial,” Lauro said. “There’s no need to railroad any defendant in the United States. And we’re hoping the Justice Department will recognize that justice is more important than speed.”

Asked whether Trump’s team could be ready for trial before the November 2024 presidential election, Lauro emphasized the amount of preparation that he believes is necessary, suggesting the trial could last between six months and a year.

“This indictment literally lists election issues in seven states,” Lauro said. “So we’ll be litigating a case of unprecedented magnitude.

“I’ve been involved in large, white-collar cases for many years, over 40 years of practicing law, this is going to be one of the biggest cases in the history of the United States.”